Cleveland City Councilmember Brian Kazy announced he will bring a resolution to Monday’s council meeting that asks Clerk of Courts Earle B. Turner to cease collecting traffic‑camera citations issued before November 2014. The measure targets red‑light and speeding tickets generated by automated cameras that the city has continued to pursue despite a 2014 charter amendment that voters overwhelmingly approved.
Voter‑approved amendment blocks outdated camera program
In 2014 Cleveland voters approved an amendment to the city charter that bars the use of automated traffic cameras unless a law‑enforcement officer is present and personally issues the citation. Kazy argues that continuing to collect fines from the pre‑2014 camera program violates that amendment.
Any citation covered by the proposed resolution is now at least twelve years old and, according to the resolution’s language, “likely uncollectible.” Kazy, who ran unsuccessfully for Clerk of Courts against Turner in 2023, did not respond to a request for comment.
Clerk’s office to review resolution
Obie Shelton, a spokesperson for Turner, said the clerk’s office will review the resolution and discuss the potential impact of halting collections with Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration. Shelton noted that the city collected about $100,000 in 2025 from old camera tickets and roughly $50,000 so far this year.
Turner’s office has previously told drivers with unpaid parking tickets that they must also pay old traffic‑camera citations to remove blocks on their vehicle registrations. Under Ohio law, drivers with multiple unpaid parking tickets can be prevented from renewing their registrations, but the law does not require payment of traffic‑camera tickets to clear a registration hold.
Internal guidance encouraged full payment
Signal Cleveland’s investigation revealed that Turner’s employees were instructed to seek payment of all outstanding tickets unless a driver specifically invoked the law and requested that only parking tickets be paid. A 2013 internal email directed staff to collect all tickets, including old camera citations, as a condition for lifting registration blocks.
Shelton said Monday that the clerk’s office does not pressure drivers to pay old camera tickets to clear a registration hold, but the practice appears to have persisted.
Background on Cleveland’s traffic‑camera program
Cleveland began using automated traffic cameras in 2005, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for the city. The program proved unpopular, leading to the 2014 charter amendment that limited camera use to situations where an officer is present. Kazy’s resolution asserts that collecting citations issued under the former program violates that voter‑approved amendment.
The council’s resolution is not a proposed law and cannot compel the clerk to act, but it signals strong council opposition to the continued pursuit of decades‑old fines. If adopted, the resolution would urge the clerk to waive the old citations and immediately stop all collection efforts.
Original reporting: Signal Cleveland — read the source article.
